"5. Take the Fun Out of Writing
Too often writing a book turns into a chore. That can happen for many reasons — stressed over a self-imposed deadline, trouble defining a character, dealing with writer’s block, afraid that the book just isn’t good enough so far, etc. I once got stuck on one sentence — one sentence – because I didn’t think it was “funny enough” and used it as an excuse to stop writing for days. That’s a true story. And now, looking back, I see how absurd that is.
The important thing to do is forget all of that — all the worries and stresses and self-induced headaches. Just focus on the reason you wanted to write a book in the first place: Because you’re a storyteller and you have a story to tell. Remind yourself of that every day and you’ll have fewer roadblocks to finishing your book."
This has been one of my issues. And I really felt inspired reading that I'm not the only writer to go through it. So I'm really going to work towards fixing this issue so I can go forward with my dream of getting published. I have to say Writer's Digest emails can be really helpful but if you do decide to get their emails do be warned they will spam your inbox. I get at least two-three emails per DAY. It's annoying but there are some good links inside some.
I have to say there are a few I disagree with.
Number 4,
"Only Save Your Book in One Place"
I strongly disagree with this. A few years ago my computer began having issues then shut down, unable to be restarted. I thought I had lost it (Thank goodness for my fiance and his awesome computer skills, brought back my computer) I lost EVERYTHING. He did manage to get my novels, short stories and stuff but they were not recent versions.
I saved my finished novel as well as the one I was working on my flash drive. If I wouldn't have done this I would have lost it all. Why? My netbook died too. It's super easy these days to hack. Plus when my computer goes down I have no way of getting my novels off the internet so that is pretty much useless to me.
I'd suggest saving your novel on your computer, a flash drive and one other place (I have the file on my Kindle) This way no matter what happens you have a back up. If my computer dies (We call it Franken computer for a reason mind you.) I have my flash drive to use if I want to upload my files onto my fiance's computer (He normally has a copy on his anyway.) or if I can't find that I can pull the file off my Kindle or from my email history. There is never anything wrong with how many times or how many places you save your novel. The more the merrier. This is my thought of course since I seem to be a killer of computers.
Two and Three I agree with all the way. It's very important for myself to keep myself form being overly attached to the novel. With my first novel, Promise Me, I became too attached to it. I still am. So with the new novel I'm trying to find a good space between being too attached and not enough.
For number one I am on the edge. I know who will give bad advice (I'm not about to sit down with my heavily religious grandmother about the magic and Pagan themes in my high fantasy novel) but there are those who give great advice. My fiance is my go to guy. He's great at giving me advice and is truly interested in the stories I am trying to tell. He offers me ideas and play video games with me when I need a break. I think it's all about knowing who you trust, who would be interested and who isn't. I write young adult novels. My uncle isn't going to care about the plot in less it's about fishing or hunting.
I have great parents who are interested as well as future parent in laws and a great fiance. So I have a lot of people who give me great advice. It may differ for every person of course. But like I said if you know so and so isn't interested in your plot, don't bother telling them. If you know someone who is, go ahead and tell them. What will you lose? Nothing. Maybe you'll get some good advice. Although remember if your explaining to someone who doesn't like to write or isn't interested in reading, perhaps you should find someone else to talk about it to. If your like me you love talking about the plot, the characters and where you want to go with the novel, just make sure you are talking to someone you trust and love.
Bad advice is easy to ignore. It is your novel after all. If someone doesn't like the plot, a character or maybe even the style of writing, too bad. Maybe someone else will. Not everyone is going to like your novel. But those who do will miss out greatly by you setting it down and giving up because of one bad comment. So stay true to yourself because in the end you are the only one who can make your dream come true.
So good luck on your quest. I will be focus and trying my hardest to start writing more, inspiring myself and trying to get a novel published. I have a lot more in store for this blog later on. So please check back often!
Ta-Ta for now!
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